Arnold Dolin

According to what I wrote on my bookplate, I received Great American Heroines by Arnold Dolin on August 18, 1966, when I was almost 12. My parents were progressive enough to believe that their daughters should go to college and have careers, the same as their son. Still, there was the wider culture to get in the way. Back then I was limited to mystery series characters such as Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, the Dana Girls, and Judy Bolton if I wanted to read about heroines who had dangerous adventures. The addition of Batgirl to the 'Batman' TV show and Dr. Julia Hoffman (a female doctor who became one of the lead characters!) to 'Dark Shadows' were both a year away. I didn't get into comic books (more superheroines!) until 1968, and I was lucky to find any female supporting character (aside from a love interest) in my science fiction & fantasy books.

Great American Heroines gave me stories about real women. Sure, some of what it says about them we now know to be more myth than fact, but it was still an eye-opener for a little girl who didn't get to hear about many historical women in school.

Of the twenty-three women listed, only three (Pocahontas, Sacajawea, and Harriet Tubman), are women of color. If the book had been published earlier than 1960, they might not have been included at all. Some of the women here displayed courage in war or other danger. Some advanced women's causes (such as higher education, entering professions thought to be only for men, and voting). Some fought for human rights, such as religious freedom, the abolition of slavery, helping slaves escape, better treatment for the mentally ill and the poor, and showing that being disabled does not mean being helpless or useless. They appear in chronological order according to birth date, except for the second one.

Here is a list of those heroine contained in this book, in alphabetical order: Jane Addams, Susan B. Anthony, 'Mad' Ann [Anne] Bailey, Clara Barton, Elizabeth Blackwell, Dorothea Dix, Amelia Earhart, Barbara Frietchie, Anne Hutchinson, Helen Keller, Emma Lazarus, Idawalley Lewis, Juliette Low, Mary Lyon, Dolly [Dolley] Madison, Maria Mitchell, Molly Pitcher, Pocahontas, Betsy Ross, Sacajawea, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Harriet Tubman, and Lillian Wald.

There are also some very nice black and white illustrations -- some small, some full page, and some double page -- included. Rafaello Busoni did them.

The intended age group for this book is nine to fourteen-year olds. Although a racist term used for Native Americans appears in an entry, for the most part persons of color are referred to by what was the politically correct term for them at the time. Even with myths included, this is still a good overview of some of the earlier American heroines for girls and boys.… (mere)